Use of ICT/WEB in Higher Education in Croatia: The Case of Economics and Management Studies

The paper presents results of research on the acceptance and use of ICT and advanced web technology among teachers in the higher education process of Economics and Management in Croatia. Acceptance and use of ICT and advanced web technology is estimated by the number and type of digitized materials created by teachers as well as through individual use of different types and frequency of ICT and advanced web technology. Acceptance and use of ICT are assumed to be the result of lessons learned in previous use of technologies, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness of technology and some ‘external’ variables. The model used to evaluate the acceptance of the technology is a modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). In our model we assumed that the actual use of technology results from a previously acquired intention to use technology and from a previously acquired perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of technology. That is why the application of the TAM model represents an interpolation of the model on acquired experience. Data were obtained through a stratified online questionnaire, which consisted of 42 questions answered by 98 respondents. The results showed that dependences have lower coefficients of correlation between the constructs related to those obtained in the ‘focused’ TAM model. The study also showed that, among teachers in higher education institutions in the field of economics and management in Croatia, there is untapped potential for the acceptance and use of ICT and web technologies and that their future use is likely to be more intense if more attention would be paid to training.